Armenia and Turkey hold inaugural meeting of joint railway restoration group
A joint Armenian–Turkish working group has held a meeting on the rehabilitation and operationalisation of the Gyumri–Kars railway. The US Embassy hailed the meeting as ‘historic progress toward a peaceful and prosperous South Caucasus’.
The working group held what appears to be their inaugural meeting in Kars, Turkey, on Tuesday.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry reported that the meeting took place in accordance with the agreements reached within the Armenia–Turkey normalisation process.
‘The parties emphasised the significance of the early operation of the Gyumri–Kars railway in the context of enhancing regional transport communications’, the statement read.
‘Restoring this critical link between Armenia and Türkiye is an important step in unlocking regional connectivity and solidifying regional stability’, the US Embassy noted in its swift response to the meeting.
The embassy also cited the Armenia–Azerbaijan–US summit in Washington in August 2025 in its statement, saying it had ‘set the stage for such momentous developments’.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
An agreement on assessing the technical requirements to enable the functioning of the Akhurik–Akyaka railroad border gate was reached in July 2024, during a meeting of Armenian and Turkish special envoys of the normalisation process, Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kılıç, on the Margara–Alican crossing on the border between the two countries.
At the time the sides also agreed ‘to simplify their mutual visa procedures for diplomatic/official passport holders’, which came into force starting from 1 January 2026.
Following the agreements on the railway, ‘representatives of the relevant institutions of the two countries’ convened a meeting at the Akhurik–Akyaka border crossing between Armenia and Turkey and in the city of Gyumri in Armenia in November 2025.
That marked the second round of technical discussions ‘aimed at the rehabilitation and reactivation of the Gyumri–Kars railway’.
The Armenian side previously announced that its border checkpoints with Turkey are ready for use.
Currently, Armenian National Security Service (NSS) Border Guards carry out service at the Akhurik checkpoint, unlike previously, when the duty was conducted together with the Russian border guards. However, Russian border guards still maintain presence along the border with Turkey and Iran.
Armenia and Turkey have been engaged in a renewed normalisation process since 2022, including meetings of special envoys on normalisation on their shared border and in their respective capitals. However, diplomatic relations have not yet been established, and the land border remains closed, despite positive messages of its re-opening being shared from the end of 2025.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
In 2022, the sides agreed to allow third-country nationals and diplomats to cross the land border, but Turkey has since stated that progress in the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process is a precondition for further achievements in the normalisation process with Armenia. Turkey originally closed the border in 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Earlier in 2026, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Special Envoy Rubinyan sat out the Antalya Diplomacy Forum taking place 17–19 April, in which they have participated since 2022. Instead, Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan attended the forum.
The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the decision to send a lower-level delegation. Previously, in the scope of the forum, the normalisation process was discussed between Armenia and Turkey.
Separately, Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan said in Istanbul that the continued closure of the Armenia–Turkey land border has been influenced by Azerbaijan ‘through its lobbying and influence’ in Turkey.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
